unilad homepage
unilad homepage
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • World News
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Money
    • Sport
    • Travel
  • Music
  • Technology
  • Film and TV
    • News
    • DC Comics
    • Disney
    • Marvel
    • Netflix
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Inside Jeff Bezos' $10,000,000,000 space station plan that will host tourism trips from Earth
Home>Technology>Space
Published 19:21 6 Dec 2024 GMT

Inside Jeff Bezos' $10,000,000,000 space station plan that will host tourism trips from Earth

The 'space park' is set to be almost as big as the International Space Station

Ellie Kemp

Ellie Kemp

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Blue Origin

Topics: Business, Science, Space, Technology, Travel, Jeff Bezos

Ellie Kemp
Ellie Kemp

Ellie joined UNILAD in 2024, specialising in SEO and trending content. She moved from Reach PLC where she worked as a senior journalist at the UK’s largest regional news title, the Manchester Evening News. She also covered TV and entertainment for national brands including the Mirror, Star and Express. In her spare time, Ellie enjoys watching true crime documentaries and curating the perfect Spotify playlist.

X

@EllieKempOnline

Advert

Advert

Advert

Jeff Bezos' $10 billion 'space park' that's set to replace the International Space Station will allow tourists on board.

The ISS is set to be destroyed after 2030, with Elon Musk's space company helping nudge it back down to Earth.

SpaceX has been awarded a $843,000,000 contract by NASA to help with the mammoth task.

But Bezos' Blue Origin has also earned a $130 million contract to develop its Orbital Reef space station.

Advert

You can take a look at it in more detail below:

In partnership with Sierra Space - as well as, unsurprisingly, Amazon, Boeing, and others - Orbital Reef will accommodate commercial space activities and tourists.

Forget working from home, working from space could be one day become the norm.

The 8,200 cubic foot station will almost be the same size as the ISS, and the station will initially be able to support 10 people on board, but it will expand with additional modules.

Dubbed a 'mixed-use business park,' it will boast 'spacious modules with large windows to view Earth'.

Blue Origin said it will feature 'distinct quarters... for personal and business use' in a 'safe and inspiring environment.'

Artist's impression of Orbital Reef's interior (Hassell Studio)
Artist's impression of Orbital Reef's interior (Hassell Studio)

The space company added: "We aim to provide a truly extraordinary experience, whether you are in orbit for research, logistics, tourism, or other applications."

Its space science modules are among its most important features, helping to continue the ground-breaking research of those on the ISS.

Blue Origin said its labs would feature 'space-based robotics to promote research in cutting-edge medicine, space biology, and other emerging fields'.

The station will also house an Astro Garden for fresh produce cultivation, utilizing innovative 'plant pillows' developed by Sierra Space to grow vegetables in microgravity.

Meanwhile, its living quarters will start out with 'hammock-like sleeping arrangements,' with more luxurious accommodation planned as the project progresses.

How the Orbital Reef is expected to look (Blue Origin)
How the Orbital Reef is expected to look (Blue Origin)

Then there's the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) module, which will be home to dining facilities, a gym and access to WiFi for video calls back home.

Amazon is set to sort logistics and supply chain management, while Sierra Space will provide modules and a runway-landing Dream Chaser spaceplane for crew and cargo transportation.

A Boeing Starliner crew spacecraft will also help transport personnel, while the company will supply science modules, space station operations and maintenance.

Orbital Reef is projected to launch in 2027 and is projected to cost upwards of $10 billion in total.

It's due to be fully operational by 2030 - just before the ISS is brought to its end.

Choose your content:

2 days ago
6 days ago
8 days ago
  • Rockstar Games
    2 days ago

    GTA 6 pre-order date confirmed after Rockstar commits to November release

    GTA 6 was first announced in December 2023 and will finally release later this year

    Technology
  • Getty Stock Photo
    6 days ago

    iPhone users are just discovering what the orange and green dots on their screen really mean

    Apple's support page has explained what the dots mean

    Technology
  • Getty Stock Image
    8 days ago

    Experts reveal why common email apology is actually making co-workers hate you

    Many way want to rethink their phrasing, as one common phrase is seen as 'irritating'

    Technology
  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
    8 days ago

    How to use Downdetector to see when top sites like Facebook and Instagram go down

    With outages hitting platforms seemingly all the time, this free tool tells you instantly whether it's your connection or a bigger problem

    Technology
  • Jeff Bezos joins Elon Musk in fueling Kessler syndrome fears with proposal to launch 51,600 satellites in AI space race
  • Jeff Bezos teams up with NASA to destroy asteroids heading for Earth
  • Jeff Bezos recalls wild first question Amazon investors asked him that would never happen today
  • Everyone's saying the same thing after 29-year-old video of Jeff Bezos' resurfaces